Thursday, 5 June 2014

Alone Together: A Documentary about a book by Sherry Turkle

In the early
days of social interaction on the Internet I tried out different identities with
avatars and used pseudonyms in virtual worlds. I learned and shared ideas in
online forums that I was interested in such as Hamster Lovers society or the Thai
fiction writers community. Nowadays, social media enterprises such as Facebook
attract more people to spend their time on the platforms. At any time and on
the move we can simulate ourselves to feel as if we were connected together and
close with each other. The little mobile devices in our pockets shape and
affect how we think about ourselves and relationships with others.

Because of my
interest in such topics I became curious to read the book “Alone Together: Why
We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other” by Sherry Turkle. I
made a documentary based on the issues that her book discuses. I am still
optimistic about the abilities that technology poses for us in order to explore
new ideas and innovations. But also, we need to know what cause constraints on
human relationships.

Researchers
have been looking at the potentials as well as problems of technology. In this
documentary Sisse Siggaard Jensen, professor of Digital Communication at RoskildeUniversity
in Denmark,
mentioned that when the computer was first invented people were amazed by its
potential as a medium for communication. Later, the World Wide Web helped the
world to be open for new ideas. Then, scholars came to study massive
multiplayer online role-playing games and social media. Many see positive
impacts when something is new. But, as time goes by they also observe problems
that affect us.

In
the past, Turkle was optimistic about the potential of the Internet for trying
out various identities. But now, with the popular use of social networking
sites such as Facebook, she is concerned that the always-on status of our lives
has resulted in isolation and individualisation. She says: “These days,
insecure in our relationships and anxious about intimacy, we look to technology
for ways to be in relationships and protect ourselves from them at the same
time” (Turkle 2011: xii). Her point convinced me that we need to know how the
designs of different platforms affect our ability to reflect on ourselves and
human relationships.

Jensen
points out in the documentary that there are new opportunities for people to
find possibilities for enjoyment and happiness in virtual worlds such as Second
Life, World of Warcraft or EverQuest.
She sees them as spaces for developing resources and understandings with
the help of social roles that are different from people’s ordinary lives. In
virtual worlds like Second life people are not limited by their skin colour,
gender or physical ability. Jensen et al. (2012) suggest that the ways people
build virtual communities or experience extraordinary events through
thought-provoking art installations hold the potential for creativity and
inspirations (Jensen et al.,2012:3). Likewise, Howard Rheingold mentions in his
book “Virtual Reality” that symbolic play is a positive act that draws
cognition and culture together. “It’s a mental can-opener for liberating new
ideas” (Rheingold 1992: 373). He suggests that imitating social roles through
symbolic playing is important for everyone Rheingold 1992: 374). The Internet
came with the promise that we could find opportunities to try out as well as
enjoy making and exploring different virtual social spaces.

In
the documentary, Jensen pinpoints that Facebook is a very limited world. The
economy of "liking" posed by Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of
Facebook, is a constraint for creativity. While some spaces on the Internet
give us resources to play and learn about ourselves in relation to others, our
personal information on Facebook became a raw material for private corporations
making profits.

If
you are wondering why it is important to know more about the ways in which
technology affects our lives and how the designs of the online platforms
matter, this documentary is for you. The ‘Alone Together’ Documentary (https://vimeo.com/90989359)
will take you on a journey, on which you can learn more about the development
of empathic skills holding together relationships through play and creativity, the
relationship of computers and humans, and how we use technology throughout our
lifetime.

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